Entering this weekend’s 8 Hours of Bahrain, Ferrari and AF Corse could pull off an unprecedented clean sweep of all five FIA WEC titles.
Whilst much has been made of the Prancing Horse’s early-season Hypercar form, its LMGT3 programme has also made a step forward in 2025 to enter the season finale very much in the championship picture.
In their second year as a trio, Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Heriau have transitioned into regular contenders for victory aboard the Vista-backed #21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3. They are currently second in the standings, only 11 points behind the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) LMGT3, meaning their title prospects are still in their own hands.
Mann and Heriau are both seeking a maiden FIA WEC title, whilst for Rovera it would be a third crown in addition to his 2021 LMGTE AM and 2022 LMP2 Pro/Am success. Now in the role of ‘lead’ driver, it would mark another key step in the career of the Italian, who received a multi-year contract extension with Ferrari over the summer.
“I started motorsport quite late, at 13, but the first time I drove a go-kart I was four,” Rovera tells DSC.
“There was this gap in between the two careers where I was doing other sports. Then, when I started at 13 with a go-kart, I did four or five years of go-kart racing, then I went to Formula Abarth and won the championship. I did two, three years of formula.
“But I immediately realised that to have a career, it was important to go to the GT and you have to be good. You have to be lucky as well, because you have to find the right window, the right sliding door.
“And I think I found my sliding door in when I drove with François Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen in ‘21 because at the time, I was Silver, they needed a Silver. And from there, everything started. We won the championship, we won Le Mans, it was really nice time, really nice memories. And then from that year, everything changed.”
His role in AF Corse’s 2021 success earned Rovera his first works contract with Ferrari, a job which comes with the unique expectations of representing the sport’s most famous name.
“I think the main thing is to be always polite,” the 30-year-old explains. “And also on track and off track, being a good brand ambassador is really important. Of course, you have to be a fast driver, but also, gentlemen, on track and off track. And I think this is my point of view, and what I think I am. I’ve always been like this in all my career.
“It was a great opportunity, and it’s an honour to be a Ferrari driver as an Italian driver as well. So, yeah, I feel at home. I feel in my good family. Also, between drivers is always a good atmosphere, and this is super important.”
His recent contract renewal offered the Italian a reminder of the magic that signing a deal with Ferrari entails.
“[It] was special, because you understand that Ferrari is trusting you,” he says.
“You have all the support, and you are also more easy on track, because when you are at the end of the contract, maybe you don’t think when you drive, but there is something in the back that is telling you you don’t have a contract anymore. So to have this type of contract of multi-year gives you more calm.”
For the past four seasons, Rovera has split his time between LMP2 and GT racing. In 2025, this involved driving an ORECA 07 LMP2 in the Asian and European Le Mans Series’, whilst piloting a 296 GT3 in the FIA WEC, GT World Challenge Europe and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
“The first year, I have to say, was difficult,” he admitted. “In ‘22 I was doing the GT, I was doing LMP2, and to change was quite difficult, because the driving style is different. But now I feel like it’s normal when I jump in a prototype, I know what I have to do. When I come back to the GT, it’s the same, so it’s just a matter of getting used to it.
“And so now it’s just a pleasure to drive both. LMP2 is always super fast, super nice to drive, really light car, lots of aero. A GT car, there is more mechanical grip into the corner, so you have to find the right compromise.”
Proof that Rovera has now mastered both disciplines came last year, with championship success in LMP2 Pro/Am in the European Le Mans Series, and the Pro class in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
It has been in Pro/Am classes where Rovera has specialised in recent years, adding additional teammates alongside his continued partnership with Perrodo. The chance to work alongside his Bronze-rated peers is something Rovera takes pleasure in:
“As a Ferrari driver, we have a lot of clients, especially with the 296, so we do a lot of races with gentlemen bronze drivers, and it’s always nice to see the behaviour of the car in their hands, how they managed to use the car.
“I started with François Perrodo, then François Heriau, Luis Pérez Companc as well. I can see different drivers using these cars. And it’s nice, because I want to help them to understand better how to drive. In the end, when you reach the result, you are proud of it.”
For the past two seasons, Rovera has raced alongside Heriau and Mann in the FIA WEC. Both drivers have come on leaps and bounds since LMGT3 debuted in Qatar last year, with the step up in performance showing in their results.
A consistent start to 2024 ramped up in the final races of last season, with Heriau scoring pole position at Fuji before victory in Bahrain vaulted them up to third in the drivers’ championship.
This momentum has carried on into 2025, with a win at Spa and runner-up finishes at Le Mans and Fuji keeping them firmly in the title hunt despite three non-scores.
Beyond the results, further missed opportunities have also highlighted their pace. For instance, contact between Mann and Team WRT’s Valentino Rossi forced the #21 Ferrari to retire from the lead of LMGT3 in Imola, whilst Fuji was a notable near-miss after Rovera led until pitting with just five minutes to go.
“Maybe it was in Brazil last year, when [Heriau] really understood how to drive this car,” Rovera said. “And from that point, he constantly improved, and now is one of the best Bronze drivers in the field.”
“I was really surprised by his improvement. And he was always used to driving prototypes, which is, as I said, a different driving style. You come to a car which is 300-400 kilos more, a different driving style, so he struggled a lot in the beginning, and now is really good. And if we are to win the championship, it is also for his skills.”
Whilst Heriau had to adapt his driving for the transition from prototypes to GTs, Mann has also had to make some changes, following the switch from LMGTE to LMGT3 at the beginning of last year.
“He’s really aggressive in the driving style,” Rovera explained. “And to drive this car in this way is difficult, so I think he took a while to adapt. Now the lap time is also coming. His driving style was a bit more for the GTE, with the confidential tyres, a bit more grip. So he did this step back, and he understood, which is not super easy, and now he’s doing really well.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, as a veteran of title showdowns, Rovera is well aware of the pressures and pitfalls that the #21 Ferrari crew will need to overcome if they are to overhaul the #92 Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick
“We don’t have to look at the points a lot,” he said. “We just have to maximise everything. In Austin, I think we were thinking too much about the championship, and we lost focus on the race.
“Porsche and the line-up, they are really good, and they don’t make mistakes. They are always fast, consistent.”
Whilst the 30-year-old has most frequently found himself driving in the Pro/Am ranks, in recent seasons Ferrari’s GT World Challenge Europe programme has offered him a chance to compete purely amongst the Pros. The Italian won the Endurance Cup drivers’ title in 2024, but has twice had to settle for the lower steps on the podium at the blue-riband 24 Hours of Spa.
In 2024, a likely victory disappeared when co-driver Alessandro Pier Guidi found a stopped car blocking the pit entry inside the final hour, whilst an early issue this year saw Rovera, Pier Guidi and Vincent Abril fight back from 65th position.
“My target for next year is to win the 24 Hours Spa, which we lost this year and last year,” Rovera stated.
“So this is for sure my main target for next year, and I would also like to do IMSA in the Pro class. I think it is a really good championship, really competitive. And of course, I will be in WEC.
“I don’t know, in GT or Hypercar, but then for me it is the same. The good thing of the Hypercar is that you can win the overall Le Mans, which is fantastic, but for me the approach is the same, GT or Hypercar. You want to win, you want to give your maximum.”
The signs are there that Rovera will join Ferrari’s nine-driver strong Hypercar line-up at some point the next few years. He played a role in the development of the 499P, has acted as the team’s official reserve driver this season and will make his first public outing in the 499P during Sunday’s FIA WEC Rookie Test in the Le Mans-winning #83 Hypercar.
But no matter what the future holds, Rovera is already living the dream:
“[Racing] was always my passion, and now it is my job, which is the best thing in the world.”
The 2025 FIA WEC season concludes with the 8 Hours of Bahrain this weekend, with the final race of the season set to take place on Saturday.
